ACADIA MILLS
ACADIA MILLS, Lawrence, Mass.
Manufacturers, Mercerizers, Bleachers and Dyers of
COMBED COTTON YARNS, SEINE TWINES
SEWING and SHOE THREADS
for llie VV'eavin}4, Knittinti, Garment Makinj* anJ
Shoe Trade
I'nsurpassed in Quality
AWRKNCE. MASS.
WILLIAM WHITMAN COMPANY, Inc.
Selling Agetits
BOSTON
7.S Chaiincy St.
NEW YORK
L'.T .^Iadi^(>n .\vf.
•HILADELF^HIA
;iOO Che.'^fiiut St.
CHICAGO
2(),S S. l.aSalle St.
CONTRASTS
CONTRASTS
^t
1
PUIVATEI-Y I'UIXrEI) HV fij
THE ACADIA MILLS
LAWUEXC'K, MASS.
1918
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
NCSU Libraries
http://www.archive.org/details/contrastsOOgrie
J\ Limited Edition printed by the
Acadia Mills for those interested
in the development of the cotton
industry from primitive methods of
spinning and weaving to the processes
of today without change in basic
principles of manufacture other than
the use of power.
THE manufacture of textiles, and in par-
ticular of cotton textiles, is an industry
of the utmost service in supph^ing the
needs of our country. The uses of cotton are
beyond number, and the growth of its manufac-
ture is one of the great industrial achievements
of the past decade. So prosi:)erous and efficient
has the cotton industry become, meeting ever}-
human want with the greatest economy, thanks
to large-scale i:)roduction and distribution, that
it is easy to forget its primitive beginnings.
Nothing so aptly illustrates the origin of
cotton manufacture as a study of the methods
and imi)lements used by the natives of India.
In a rare and little known volume entitled
''Bihar Peasant Life," by George A. Grier-
son. Fellow of the University of Calcutta, is
found a descrii)tion in some detail of s])inning
and weaving as ])ractised by the East Indians.
[7]
The Acadia Mills, having had a number
of inquiries as to the period of spinning de-
picted in its trademark, takes pleasure in reprint-
ing this section of that book, in the earnest
hope that it may prove of interest and value in
recalling the early processes and tools of a great
industr3^ A comparison between these primi-
tive methods and those of today is most im-
pressive. The same principles in the prepara-
tion, spinning and weaving of cotton are found
in use todaj^ as then, but with power machin-
ery replacing the labor of human hands. Indeed
it is this substitution of power for hand labor,
together with new processes of finishing, mer-
cerizing and djing, that enables the cotton
manufacturer of today to meet the increasing
demands for cotton fabrics for all purposes.
THE SPINNING WHEEL
THE SPINNING-WHEEL
THE following diary shows the process of
spinning thread and making cloth in the
subdivision of ISIadhubani, in Northeast Tir-
hut, in the year 1879:
On September 20 the writer bought twent}^-
four sers of cotton, being a day's plucking
on a sunn}^ day from about a bigha and a
half of cotton field. The cotton bdnga was
of the kind called kokti, which ripens in
the month of Bhddon (August-September).
It was i)ulled out of the husks from the tree.
September 20-26. During this time the cot-
ton has been drying in the sun, and now
(26th) two old women are employed to
clean it, picking out the dirty and imma-
ture cotton, called karkut. This is princi-
pally' comi)osed of seeds which have come
to nothing and been worm-eaten. This
cleaning is done by hand. It lasted to
September 30.
October 1. Commenced to i?e])arate the
seeds, hangaur, from the bdnga. This is
[11]
done by a ir'^'^hine called charkhi, which
consists of tw^o rollers, about an inch thick,
of hard wood tightly wedged one above
the other; both rollers are supported in
uprights, the ends passing through. At
one end the lower roller is turned by a
handle, and has at the other end, where it
projects from the upright, a screw cut in
it. The same end of the upper screw has
a reversed screw cut in it, and these two
screws fitting into each other act like cog-
wheels ; but when the lower roller is turned,
the upper roller turns in the direction re-
verse to that of the lower one, so that they
act as a pair of feeders tightly wedged to-
gether. The bdnga, or uncleaned cotton, is
then applied to the feeding side of the two
rollers, and on the handle being turned the
cotton is pulled forcibly through by their
revolution, while the seeds remain behind
and fall down to the ground.
The two upright standards are called khunta,
and each of the rollers jdthi, or in Saran sanrdri.
Underneath the rollers is a cross-bar, called kal,
joining the two uprights and holding the ma-
chine together. The khunti is a wedge going
through each upright from front to back, under
fl2 1
Machine for Cleaning Raw ('otton (Charki)
-^
the cross-bar and holding it and the roller in
their places.
The pachri are the wedges running sideways
through each upright and tightening the two roll-
ers together. The crank which turns the lower
roller is called makri, and it is held to it by the
killi, or linch-pin. The handle at the other end
of the crank, which is held in the hand, and by
which the machine is turned, is called Idgani,
or in Saran chalauni and in Gaya hathauri.
The base of the machine in which the up-
rights rest is called pirha, or to the west pirhiya,
and out of this projects behind, along the
ground, the majhiva, on which the foot of the
operator is placed to keep the machine steady.
The cotton, when cleaned from the seeds by
this machine, is called n7, rili, or ti2r — the last
by women of the upper Hindu castes, and the
two first by Musalmans and low-caste Hindus.
Rua is used in Shahabad.
The above lasted three days. It was then
again cleaned {tunab, tunnab, or (in Shahabad)
tumab, to clean), the few remaining pieces of
husk, etc., being picked out by hand.
October 21. The cotton was today ])ut out
in the sun preparatory to being carded
{dhunab, to card).
[15 1
October 22. Today two cotton-carders
(dhuniya) came to card the cotton. Each
brought with him a machine, called a
dhimki, or to the west dhanuhi. In Ciaya
it is dhiinethi, in South Hunger and South-
east Tirhut dhunaith, and in South Bha-
galpur dhunhath.
It is composed of the following parts :
(a) The flexible piece of wood acting as a
bow, called danti or danta to the east
and ddnri to the west.
{b) A broad wooden board, called phareha
in Northeast Tirhut. In Southwest
Tirhut it is pharavt a, in South Bhagal-
pur pharuha, and elsewhere as pharha.
(c) The bridge over which the string is
passed, mdngi. In Shahabad and also
optionally in East Tirhut it is mdiha,
16 1
I
5
1 '-h ,^ . ^O
^^lL^...sliiAilS^
ill South Bhagalpur mathwa, and in
South Munger magwdsi.
(d) A leather string, called tdtit. In Patna
and Gay a it is also called roda.
(e) A leather strip acting as a sounding
board, Ij'ing along the round edge of
the phareha, on which the string re-
bounds, called puchhet or puchheta
generally, pachhauta in Tirhut, and
kdnkar in Saran and Champaran. In
Northeast Tirhut it is pushtail, and an
optional name in Shahabad is puch-
hauia.
(/) A stout leather string along the outer
side of the phareha, to one end of
which the tdnt is attached, while the
other end is fastened to the danti. It
is used to tighten the tdnt, and is
called ghirchi or ghurchi. When pegs
are used for tightening this, the}' are
called blri or hiriya.
(g) The hathhar, hathgar, or hathkar, is a
loop of string under which the left
hand is passed to hold the machine
steady. The above is the name cur-
rent in Northeast Tirhut. South of
the Ganges it is also called hathkar,
f 19 1
with variants hathkar or hathkara in
Shahabad. In Northwest Tirhut it is
hathra, in Southwest Tirhut and Saran
hatha, and in Saran and Champaran
muthwdra .
(h) The mallet for twanging the bow, of
wood, shaped like a dumb-bell. It is
held in the right hand, and the tdnt is
struck and twanged with it. It is
called jista, and also (in Tirhut and
South Bhagalpur) dista. In Patna it
is called dasta, and in South ]\Iunger
distha.
In using this instrument it is held by the left
hand under the hathkar, which passes over the
wrist, and the td7it twanged in the midst of the
cotton by the jista, which is held in the right
hand. This process loosens the texture of the
cotton, and causes all the dust and dirt to fly
out of it. The dhunki is not allowed to rest on
the ground, but is supported in the air by the
hathkar passing over the wrist, and it springs
up and down as the tdnt is twanged.
The whole pile of cleaned cotton was called
(jothi. While this was going on, two old women
were called in to make little hollow rolls of
[201
cotton to be made into thread. They are called
to the east pint, and to the west piuni or pewni.
A local name in East Tirhut is plr. These are
about four inches long and a quarter of an inch
thick. A lump of clean cotton, the size of a wal-
nut, is put round a thin skewer, called pinrhsari,
and is then rolled on a board, called pirhiya,
with the palm of the hand. These are then tied
up in bundles of about ten each, called mutthi.
These jnni are now read}^ for being made
into thread in the spinning-wheel.
The spinning-wheel is charkha, but in South-
west Shahabad it is rahta, and in the southeast
jarkha.
Its parts are as follows:
The Foundation. This is in the shape of a
double letter T, thus:
On one of the cross-pieces the driving wheel
stands, and on the other the spinning apparatus.
[211
This foundation is called plrha or pirhiya to the
east, and pirhai to the west. The connecting
bar between the two cross-pieces is manjhwa or
manjha, in Patna and Gaya it is latkhora, and
in South Bhagalpur manjhdl.
The Driving Wheel. The supports of the
driving wheel are called khunta. The wheel it-
self is composed of two parts:
(a) The central boss or nave, and
(5) The four spokes on each side of the
nave.
The nave is called munri or muri south of the
Ganges, and ynunri or munriya north of it; in
East Tirhut it is also tama, and in South Bha-
galpur and South Hunger paila. It is about
five inches long and four inches thick.
There are four spokes lying across each end
of the nave from one circumference to the
other; there are, therefore, eight radii on each
side, and they are so arranged that the radii on
each side are not opposite each other, but alter-
nate. Each of these cross spokes is called putti
or pidi, or in Southwest Shahabad kamri;
sometimes they are also called khilnta or khunti.
These spokes are held in their places by a
string, called awdl to the west, amwdl in Patna
and Gaya, and amdl or amdlh to the east. In
[221
rfj
South Munger it is amhdl. This string goes
round the extremities of each radius of each
side alternately, thus : ^\ It forms, there-
fore, a kind of edge or / 1 rim of a broad
wheel, something like ^ \^ a paddle wheel,
and over it i:)asses the driving band which turns
the spinning ai:)paratus. This paddle wheel is
about a foot in diameter and five inches thick.
The central axle of the driving wheel is called
Icdh, generalh^ north of the Ganges and in South
Bhagalpur. In Tirhut it is called jdth, and in
Northeast Tirhut also laith or jdlth . South of the
Ganges it is generally belna. It is caused to re-
volve b}' a crank end called makri, or in Shahabad
and West Tirhut ndk. It is ddrhi or darhiya else-
where south of the Ganges, except South Bhagal-
pur, where it is again makri. To this is attached
a handle, called to the west and in Ga3^a chalauna,
and to the east lama or Idrani. In Southwest
Shahabad it is called bhaunti or hhdmicat, and
in Saran optionalh^ chalauni.
The Driving Band is called mdl or mdlh.
It is rubbed with rosin {dhuman) and oil {tel),
and is then blackened with charcoal (koela).
The driving band goes twice round the driving
wheel and the spinning axle, once jmssing
through the tnalkdthi {vide post), and once not.
[251
The Spinning Apparatus. We now come to
the spinning apparatus. There are three per-
pendicular uprights. The two outside ones are
called khunti, and the middle one is called mal-
kdthi. In Patna these three uprights are called
together pachkathiya, and in Southwest Shaha-
bad khuntiputti. The two outside ones support
the bearings of the sjiinning axle, and the
centre one has in its length, facing the driving
wheel and going right through its thickness, a
long slot cut. One of the strings of the driving
band passes through this slot, and the other
passes outside it, so that the double turn round
the spinning axle can never get jammed up
together, and so entangled.
On the two outside uprights, on the side
furthest from the driving wheel, project two
stiff pieces of leather, called chamrakh. These
form the bearings of the spinning axle, which
passes through them.
The Spinning Axle. This is called takua,
and also to the west tekua. It is an iron skewer
about eight inches long and an eighth of an inch
thick at the thickest part. It projects a dis-
tance of three inches beyond its bearing on the
same side as the handle of the driving wheel.
This bearing has on each side two little pieces
126 1
of wood fitting on to the spinning axle, which
act as washers, and are called chhuchchhi. Out-
side the outer washer on the spinning axle is a
flat disc called phirki, and two and a half inches
of the axle project beyond it.
The driving band, after passing twice round
the driving wheel, passes through the malkdthi,
then twice round the spinning axle, and then
back to the driving wheel outside the malkdthi;
and it is evident that even the slow turning of
the driving wheel will make the spinning axle
revolve at a very high speed indeed.
In spinning, the projecting point of the spin-
ning axle has a short length of thread attached
to it, and then, while the handle of the driving
wheel is turned with the right hand, a roll of
cotton (pinl) is held in the left hand between
the finger and thumb, and the cotton, being
quickly caught up by the length of thread, is
drawn off in the shape of thread on to the
quickly revolving spinning axle.
When the projecting point of the spinning
axle is filled with thread, the whole is called a
kukri, or in Saran kukurhi, and is wound off on
a winder, called paiia or pareta. It is also called
in Southwest Tirhut nativa, and in East Tirhut
lahva or natica. In South Bhagal])ur it is called
natal. This is like an ordinary silk winder.
The handle (chalauna) of the driving wheel is
taken out of its socket in the crank iinakri),
and in its place is placed one end of the axle of
the winder. The other end is held in the right
hand, and is revolved between the finger and
thumb. The winder is conical in sha])e, and
does not need further description. It will hold
half a quarter of a ser of thread at a time.
When it is filled, the thread is taken off and tied
in hanks. These are generally pola, poli, or
poliya. Local names are natti (Northeast Tir-
hut), latti (Patna and Gaya), and karchi in
Southwest Shahabad.
The diary breaks off here temporaril}', as the
spinning of this particular cotton was not done
in the writer's presence. He wished the thread
to be si)un as fine as possible, and as this could
only be done by Brahmani women, who would
not come to a strange house, this part of the
work was done by them at home.
28
THE WEAVER'S LOOM
THE WEAVER'S LOOM
rriHE following is a continuation of the same
-L diar}'.
January 18, 1880. The skeins of fine thread
were brought to me today, and were put
in water to soak for eight days. This
strengthens it.
January 27. After they had soaked this
period I sent for a weaver. A Muhamma-
dan weaver is jolha or momin, a Hindu
weaver is tantwa or fdnti, or, in Shahabad
tdnto. Sometimes the Hindi word joldha
is used instead oi jolha.
The Musalman weaver or jolha is the pro-
verbial fool of Hindu stories and proverbs. He
swims in the moonlight across fields of flowering
linseed, thinking the blue color to be caused bj^
water. He hears his family priest reading the
Quran, and bursts into tears to the gratification
of the reader. When pressed to tell what part
affected him most, he says it was not that, but
the wagging beard of the old gentleman so much
reminded him of a pet goat which had died.
When forming one of a company of twelve he
[311
tries to count them, and finding himself miss-
ing wants to perform his own funeral obsequies.
He finds the rear peg of a plough, and wants to
set up farming on the strength of it. He gets
into a boat at night, and forgets to pull up the
anchor. After rowing till dawn he finds himself
where he started, and concludes that the only
explanation is that his native village could not
bear to lose him, and had followed him. If
there are eight weavers and nine hukkas, they
fight for the odd one. Once on a time a crow
carried off to the roof of the house some bread
which a weaver had given his child. Before
giving the child any more he took the precau-
tion of removing the ladder. Like the English
fool, he always gets unmerited blows. For in-
stance, he once went to see a ram fight and got
butted himself, as the saying runs :
Karigah chhdr tamdsa jay,
Ndhak chot joldha khdy.
"Jie left his loom to see the fun, and for no rea-
son got a bruising." Another story (told by
Fallon) is, that being told by a soothsayer that
it was written in his fate that his nose would
be cut off with an axe, the weaver was incredu-
lous, and taking up an axe, kept flourishing it,
saying, yon karba ta gov kdtbon, yon karha ta
f32l
hath katbon, aur yon karba tah nd — , if I do so
I cut my leg, and if I do so I cut m}^ hand; but
unless I do so my no — , and his nose was off. A
proverb Jo//? rt janathi jau kdtai — does a weaver
know how to cut barle}'' — refers to a story (in
Fallon) that a weaver, unable to pay his debt, was
set to cut barley by his creditor, who thought to
repay himself in this wa3^ But instead of reaping,
the stupid fellow kept trying to untwist the tangled
barley stems. Other proverbs at his expense are
kaua chalal bds ken, joiha chalal ghds ken, — the
weaver went out to cut grass (at sunset), when
even the crows were going home; jolha bhutiaildh
tisikhet, — the weaver lost his way in the linseed
field, an illusion to the swimming exploit already
recorded. Plis wife bears an equally bad char-
acter, as in the proverb bahsali jolhini bdpak
ddnrhi noche, — a wilful weaver's wife will pull
her own father's beard.
The weaver proceeded to set up in the ground
seventeen pairs of sticks in two lines, at a dis-
tance between each pair of about one and a
quarter cubits, and between the lines of about
two cubits. At each end of each line a stout
bamboo post is fixed, and close to each of those
at one end another smaller stafT. Round these
sticks the thread is twisted as follows:
[33 1
A, A, A, A, are the tops of the bamboo posts,
and the dots are the tops of the smaller sticks.
This operation of setting the warp is called
tdnikarab, or in Shahabad tana karab. The
bamboo posts are called khilnti, and each stick,
sar. These last are called in Saran, Champaran,
and Northwest Tirhut sarka.
The sticks immediatelj' in front of the bam-
boo posts are called to the west chhitua, in Sha-
habad chhipki, and to the east chhitki, also in
Northeast Tirhut dorik sar. The whole appa-
ratus is called tdni, or in vShahabad tana, and
the thread to be stretched is put on a kind of
pyramidal reel called charkhi. It spins on a
spindle, called dagni, or in Sha-
habad ddngi, and in the inside
of the apex of the cone is a
cup called thori, or in Shahabad
tholri, in South Munger thorli,
and in South Bhagalpur to'i,
which rests on, and revolves
on the point of, the spindle,
thus:
[341
\J
The spool is composed of fourteen slips of
bamboo, forming the framework of the cone,
fastened at equal distances round the circum-
ference (chakkar) of the base of the cone, and
converging to a point at the top.
The spindle of the spool is held in the left
hand, and the weaver walks up and down be-
tween the two lines of thread, directing the
thread by a hook called khunri or kJionri,
or in Southwest Shahabad khunda, in South
Munger khundi, and in Northeast Tirhut and
Shahabad khunra, and shaped as follows:
The hook at the top is made of iron. U
February 5, 1880. The warp having now
been all set upon the sticks {sar), the.y
were, with the khunti, pulled up, rolled up,
and put by till today. Today they were
unrolled and laid out in a long line on the
grass. The khunti were then carefully
drawn out, and a bamboo staff, called
sirdi^ (or sirdri), put in the place of each.
It will be remembered that the sar were in
pairs, and that at each pair the thread
crossed thus ^X^^ Another kind of
sar is now taken, made like a long shallow
bow, except that the string is made of a
thin strip of bamboo. This bow is called
[351
sutri, or in Tirhut banhka. The arch of
the bow is also made of bamboo. The
bamboo string is called dori. The arch of
the bow is now passed through the threads
where one of the old sar was, and the bam-
boo string through where the other sar of
the pair was, so that the cross of the
threads is still i)reserved. The bow and
string are then fastened to each other at
each end. The arches of the various bows
all face one way. The warp is then laid
out on the ground, and the threads neatly
spread out upon the bows in parallel lines,
to the width of the future piece of cloth.
February 9. The thread thus arranged was
rolled up, dipped into, and well wet with
cold rice water [indnr), to which some
marua seeds had been added to stiffen it.
It was then unrolled and stretched out
horizontall}^ at a height of three feet from
the ground and brushed with a large
brush, called kfmch, dii^ped in mustard oil
and water, which smooths the threads
and takes away any knots or inequalities
in the thread. This brush is also called
majna in West Tirhut, mdnja in South
Bhagalpur, and mdnjan in Southwest Sha-
I 36 1
habad. The cross sticks on which the
thread rests are called nidnjha, and the
cross bamboos at each end are thenghni or
Idthi dor to the west, gora to the east,
khasraiya in Northwest Tirhut, dhattha
also in Northeast Tirhut, dhdntha in South
Bhagalpur, and Idthi also in Southeast
Tirhut. This brushing is hard work, and
takes eight men to do it properly. The
brushing is along the threads, and not
across them. The bristles of the brush are
made of khaskhas, called also in Saran
katra ke jar, such as is used for tatties,
and are about two and a half inches long.
The brush itself is about a foot long and
two inches wide. The brushing went on
for three days, and is called pdi karab, and
also in east Tirhut tdsan karab. The phrase
di pdi means the brushing and other prep-
arations, and there is a proverb, jolha ke
di pdi, chamra ke bihdn — when a weaver
says the cloth will be soon ready, as he
is now brushing it, don't believe him,
an}^ more than you believe a shoemaker
who says, "The boots will be ready
tomorrow."
37
When this was concluded, the threads were
put into the loom and woven at the rate of a
yard a day. The Loom is little different from
that used in England. It is called karigah to
the west and kargah to the east. It consists of
the following parts:
(1) The Shuttle. This is dharki in Gaya
and to the west, and kaparhinni or ka-
parblni to the east. In Northeast Tir-
hut it is also called kaparni.
(2) The Needle inside the shuttle, on
which the thread is wound, is tiri, and
the tube which revolves on this chhuch-
chhi, or in Shahabad chhunchhi. When
thread is wound on this tube the whole
is called narl, also in East Tirhut lari.
This is held in its place in the hollow of
the shuttle by a pin made of a feather.
This is called pakhnari to the west and
in Southeast Tirhut, btr in South Bha-
galpur, and pakhblr or pakhedri to the
east. A weaver estimates his work b}^
the number of 7iari which he uses up, as
in the proverb in which he is supposed
to address a man who has seized him to
carry a load, tangbah ta tangah, nahin
ta nan narlk harkati hoet — if you must
[381
- :S S R
TO ■* IC tc
3 ^ -- S
CD
O
<!
load me, load me ciuickly, otherwise
the time of nine shuttles will be wasted.
(3) The Wooden Frame suspended from
the roof, which after the shuttle passes
is pulled forward by the weaver and
drives the thread home. This is hatha
or hattha in West Shahabad, Patna, and
West Tirhut, kamhanr in the west gen-
erally, kamhar in the northwest, and
kamhanda in Gay a. In Northeast Tir-
hut it is tana, and in Southeast Tirhut
tani. In South Bhagalpur it is tankar.
(4) The Comb of reeds or bamboo in this
bar, which keeps the threads of the
warp apart, is called rdchh.
(5) The Heddles, which alternately raise
or depress the threads of the warp, are
bae or bai.
(6) The set of three Reeds which is placed
in front of the heddles to keep the two
sets of the threads of the warp ajmrt is
atrdwan north of the Ganges generally,
and in Shahabad, and tardwan else-
where south of the Ganges. Another
set of three reeds also used is called
bhanjni in Champaran, North Tirhut,
Gaya, and South Munger, and the two
[411
sets together are called in Northeast
Tirhut atrdwan hhdnj. In Patna and
the southeast the reeds are also called
sar.
(7) The elastic Bow, which keeps the woven
cloth stretched in front of the weaver,
is pannik south of the Ganges; north of
the Ganges it is pannikh, and also panni
in East Tirhut.
(8) The wooden Roller, behind which the
weaver sits, and on which the cloth is
wound up as fast as it is made, is in the
northwest, in West Shahabad, and in
South Munger lapetan; elsewhere it is
chaupat.
(9) This is supported b}^ Posts, called
khunta; also the right and left ones have
different names, viz., the right-hand
one, which passes through the roller
and prevents it turning round, is jib-
hela everywhere, in Northeast Tirhut
also jihla, and in Southeast Tirhut also
jihela. In South Bhagalpur it is gdli
khunta. The left-hand one, against
which the roller rests, is banghela north
of the Ganges everywhere. Also, in
East Tirhut, as also to the west and
42 1
Gaya, it is bamwdri or bamwariya, in
Shahabad it is also pachhela, and in
Southwest Tirhiit kandhela. In South-
east Tirhut it is also called bamaila.
In South Bhagulpar it is simply
khutta.
(10) The woof is supported at the end op-
posite the weaver by a piece of wood
called kharkaut to the west and khar-
kauti to the east or kharkuti in South
Bhagalpur, which is held up by pillars
called kanaili to the north and west,
khunta in East Tirhut, thmn in Patna,
thumbhi in Gaya, and thumbha in the
east, and also kharko khunta in South
Bhagalpur.
(11) The woof is held tight by a string,
which is fastened to its end and passes
round a peg at the extreme end of the
loom and back again up to the weaver,
where it is fastened within his reach to
another peg. He is thus able to slacken
the woof as necessary. The first peg is
called agela ke khunta, or in Tirhut sar-
kauni ke khunti; the second peg is
called dorbandha ke khunta, or in South
Bhagalpur kankilU.
[431
(12) The Treadle, which the weaver moves
with his foot, is paunsdr or pausdr gen-
erally, and in East Tirhut pasdr. The
knob on this, held between the w^eaver's
toes, is pautdn.
(13) The Upper Levers, to which the hed-
dles are attached, are nachni generally.
In East Tirhut they are lochni, and in
South Munger lachni.
(14) These levers are fastened to an Upper
Beam, which has various names, viz.,
abher to the west, bhitbhera in Saran
and C'hamparan, dhachdna in Southwest
Tirhut, dhachdn or akdsi in Northeast
Tirhut, uparkar in Southeast Tirhut,
karbdr in Gaya, and kar in Patna and
South Munger.
The loose end of the woof {pdi) is called
sirdra, and it is wound up on a tangni, which is
hung up out of the way.
44
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